Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy
What is Orofacial Myology?
Orofacial Myology is a specialized professional discipline that studies and evaluates a variety of oral and facial (orofacial) muscles (myo-) as they relate to functional disorders and oral habits that may disrupt normal orofacial musculature growth, development and function.
What is an Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder (OMD)?
Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders are atypical, adaptive patterns that emerge in the absence of normalized patterns within the orofacial complex. The regular presence of these adaptive movements may often result in a variety of disturbances. These disorders are often related to a variety of medical and dental disorders.
What Causes an Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder?
It is difficult to identify a single cause as most involve a combination of factors that may include:
- Oral habits: thumb or finger sucking; cheek or nail biting
- Tongue thrust pattern or improper chewing/swallowing patterns
- Deviated low rest tongue position due to reduced muscle tone: Lip licking or biting; mouth breathing
- An airway restriction from enlarged tonsils or adenoids
- Allergies/Sinusitis or anatomical deviations involving nasal cavity or pharynx
- Structural or physiological abnormalities such as: short frenulum, large tongue (macroglossia), small jaw (micrognathia)
- Neurological or developmental abnormalities such as: Downs Syndrome or Bell’s Palsy
What is Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT)?
The primary goal of orofacial myofunctional therapy is to recapture a normal dental rest position (also known as the dental freeway space), including correction of the tongue position at rest and during swallowing. This is achieved by an individualized neuro-muscular re-education of the oral facial muscles through a series of exercises, to assist in the development or to develop craniofacial structures and proper function of the mouth, face and neck.